Life's perfect food or at least to this mom, wife, cook, foodie, and dietitian

Monday Mixture

Spring break is technically over; however my vacation with Little Miss Mixture is lasting another day. We are visiting family in Southern Florida and my grandmother has a birthday today, so we are staying to celebrate. You can never take for granted how many more celebrations there may be together and it is so nice to have Little Miss Mixture be able to celebrate with her great grandmother. Not all things in life are learned in the classroom and family and having multiple generations together for celebrations is one of those memories you do not want to pass up.

Unfortunately staying in south Florida today means we are missing another family celebration, but hoping my sister understands and we will celebrate at a later date. My family knows I do not need much convincing to make a sweet of some sort. She likes chocolate and I have pinned quite a few recipes recently that would be birthday worthy.

I am guessing everyone figured out that indeed I can do it. In my last Monday Mixture I referenced my upcoming drive. Well I made it and all in all it was uneventful. We even took a few minutes to enjoy the drive stopping for the complimentary dose of Vitamin C at the Florida welcome center.

Do you enjoy road trips with your kids? How do you make the time pass?

1. Kids in the Kitchen – Little Miss Mixture seemed to enjoy herself at her Whole Foods cooking class last week. She definitely got to help make several items and enjoy them. In speaking with her I was a little disappointed with some of the things that had been done for them versus taught to them, but she had fun. The class had a nice teacher student ratio and everyone seemed to leave happy and with a copy of recipes to make at home. Getting kids involved in the kitchen is beneficial in so many ways – increase their cooking skills, encourage them to try new foods, and build confidence promoting independence.

Will she sign up for another class? Little Miss Mixture says YES. Check your local store for specifics.

Do you involve your kids the kitchen?

There are some great resources to help you include your children in food preparation. I recently spoke with someone who started a new business Kidstir. Kidstir encourages healthy cooking and provides recipes to build a cookbook through a subscription. They also have some resources on their website. Check it out.

Not sure what is age appropriate? Here is a great article from William Sonoma on ability and things children can do to help. Did you know that William Sonoma stores have also started classes for kids? They are more or less workshops before the store opens on Saturday mornings. We have been to a couple. They are conducted by store employees so some are better than others, but it is a great free activity to start your weekend off and encourage new skills. You also get a discount on all purchases after your child attends.

2. Childhood Memories. Do you remember these?

There are some things that just bring back random childhood memories. Little Miss Mixture was offered dot candy while shopping in one of the cutest little store for hair accessories. I just could not say no. Some things everyone needs to experience at least once.

3. Passover is almost over and I know many readers are counting the hour to not have to think about matzah. But having not kept Kosher for Passover I may have to have some more when I return home. During our trip I made matzah brei . It was good. It hit the spot. I made the classic simple matzah brei(eggs and matzah). Check out some of my pins this week. I may need to by more matzah before next Pesach just to try them out.

4. Things I am looking forward to in the week ahead. I am not so excited about the long drive back home, but a certain little four legged pup has apparently been looking for us each time Mr. Mixture returns home. Nothing better than feeling loved. Getting back into my kitchen. Traveling is enjoyable but some things are just easier at home. Firing up the grill and trying some new recipes.

5. Hope everyone has a good start to their week. I am going to enjoy my view for one more day!

* I apologize for any typos as I am writing with a new app and it does not seem to have spellcheck or proofread button. Probably not the best app for me. If you have experience with wordpress apps and can recommend one, please leave a comment passing them along. Thanks.